High school, the last step of childhood learning before making one of the most important decisions of my life, was as important to my overall education as my early schooling was. From elementary school, I mentioned that I learned general skills like working in groups, discipline, and structure. In high school, I better learned how to apply these basic skills. High school affected my education in a unique way. It was a difficult time for me, and I found myself counting down the days until I moved on. There were things I learned in high school like hard work, studying, and competition with grades, and then there were things during my high school years that I learned like finding myself, learning to live for myself, and overcoming setbacks in my life. I look back on these four years and appreciate the lessons I took from them.
First of all, generically speaking, I learned how to really work hard and study in high school. In grades one through eight, I never really had to work in school. In the last couple years of high school, however, I truly needed to develop study habits. I had to actually listen in math class or I wouldn’t understand the material. I had to study my Spanish vocabulary and conjugated verbs. This was a significant lesson for me. I can study in college efficiently because I learned how to study in high school. Something else different in high school was the competition. In high school, grades matter to your personal rank in your class. You weren’t just an equal peer anymore; you were a number and a rank. This was where I took my skills in competition from sports and applied it to my education. Without this competitive drive, I would not have been able to succeed as much as I did. Along with practicing the skills adapted in early grade school, these new skills and habits effected my overall education.
There were other things during high school that had an effect on my education, though. This was what I experienced out of school. After my ninth grade year, my relationship with my father started to crash. In contrast to our bond when I was young, we began to drift farther and farther apart. It is one thing to lose a strong bond with a parent while in the teenage years, but it is different to, even to this day, exchange no words while still living in the same house. And, if believable, this steady nonexistent relationship we have now is better than what it was in high school. With this stress at home, one good lesson did surface. I learned to live my life for myself and for my own happiness. In my mind, I was never good enough for my father. I only heard of the disappointments from him. For a while, I didn’t know how to deal with it. And that may be why I never got into Dartmouth College like I had dreamed since seventh grade. Hearing it so many times may have just defeated me and caused me to believe it too. Either way, I finally learned to push his voice out of my mind. I learned that I was the one who controlled my life and I was going to stop trying to live for the standards of someone else. This was the best psychological epiphany in my life so far. Since then, I have no problem with how others view me and that has worked to my advantage. I set my own goals and believe in myself. I don’t need someone to tell me when I am doing well or poorly. While it did set me back in competition of rank, I think I ended up exactly where I should be. Thankfully, I believe that everything happens for a reason.
Finally, and most importantly, I found myself in high school. I know exactly who I am and where I want to be. I am not talking about personality like it may sound, I put that together over time, but I am talking about knowing what I love and what I want do. Maybe I don’t know exactly what I want as a job title or where I want to work after college, but I know everything I need to end up happy. For this, I have my tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade chemistry teacher, Mrs. Marjorie Inderbitzen, to thank. Without this person, I can whole-heartedly say that I don’t know where I would be right now. She is the one who made me so excited about chemistry and science. She showed her passion for chemistry every class and subsequently made me realize my passion for it, too. Since my senior year in AP chemistry with her, I have been intrigued with nanotechnology in chemistry focusing with pharmaceuticals. I have an acute understanding of this topic, but found my calling within its mystery and incredible potential. My plan since this class is to continue schooling and gaining the knowledge and experience I need in order to make a difference with this new science. I never falter in curiosity or lust in this field of study and therefore owe so much to Mrs. Inderbitzen for opening my eyes to finding myself in that aspect.
All in all, my pre-college education consists of countless experiences starting from about six years of age until my graduation of high school. Everything from my home life, my early schooling, and my high school experiences shaped my education and put me where I am today. Looking back as a whole, I had extremely positive experiences. They had to have been because I believe I am successful in my education. There isn’t just one thing that contributes to the outcome of a person’s education. It is everything. Almost every experience effects education. I am lucky that the majority of experiences in my life were positive ones.
High school, the last step of childhood learning before making one of the most important decisions of my life, was as important to my overall education as my early schooling was. From elementary school, I mentioned that I learned general skills like working in groups, discipline, and structure. In high school, I better learned how to apply these basic skills. High school affected my education in a unique way. It was a difficult time for me, and I found myself counting down the days until I moved on. There were things I learned in high school like hard work, studying, and competition with grades, and then there were things during my high school years that I learned like finding myself, learning to live for myself, and overcoming setbacks in my life. I look back on these four years and appreciate the lessons I took from them.
First of all, generically speaking, I learned how to really work hard and study in high school. In grades one through eight, I never really had to work in school. In the last couple years of high school, however, I truly needed to develop study habits. I had to actually listen in math class or I wouldn’t understand the material. I had to study my Spanish vocabulary and conjugated verbs. This was a significant lesson for me. I can study in college efficiently because I learned how to study in high school. Something else different in high school was the competition. In high school, grades matter to your personal rank in your class. You weren’t just an equal peer anymore; you were a number and a rank. This was where I took my skills in competition from sports and applied it to my education. Without this competitive drive, I would not have been able to succeed as much as I did. Along with practicing the skills adapted in early grade school, these new skills and habits effected my overall education.
There were other things during high school that had an effect on my education, though. This was what I experienced out of school. After my ninth grade year, my relationship with my father started to crash. In contrast to our bond when I was young, we began to drift farther and farther apart. It is one thing to lose a strong bond with a parent while in the teenage years, but it is different to, even to this day, exchange no words while still living in the same house. And, if believable, this steady nonexistent relationship we have now is better than what it was in high school. With this stress at home, one good lesson did surface. I learned to live my life for myself and for my own happiness. In my mind, I was never good enough for my father. I only heard of the disappointments from him. For a while, I didn’t know how to deal with it. And that may be why I never got into Dartmouth College like I had dreamed since seventh grade. Hearing it so many times may have just defeated me and caused me to believe it too. Either way, I finally learned to push his voice out of my mind. I learned that I was the one who controlled my life and I was going to stop trying to live for the standards of someone else. This was the best psychological epiphany in my life so far. Since then, I have no problem with how others view me and that has worked to my advantage. I set my own goals and believe in myself. I don’t need someone to tell me when I am doing well or poorly. While it did set me back in competition of rank, I think I ended up exactly where I should be. Thankfully, I believe that everything happens for a reason.
Finally, and most importantly, I found myself in high school. I know exactly who I am and where I want to be. I am not talking about personality like it may sound, I put that together over time, but I am talking about knowing what I love and what I want do. Maybe I don’t know exactly what I want as a job title or where I want to work after college, but I know everything I need to end up happy. For this, I have my tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade chemistry teacher, Mrs. Marjorie Inderbitzen, to thank. Without this person, I can whole-heartedly say that I don’t know where I would be right now. She is the one who made me so excited about chemistry and science. She showed her passion for chemistry every class and subsequently made me realize my passion for it, too. Since my senior year in AP chemistry with her, I have been intrigued with nanotechnology in chemistry focusing with pharmaceuticals. I have an acute understanding of this topic, but found my calling within its mystery and incredible potential. My plan since this class is to continue schooling and gaining the knowledge and experience I need in order to make a difference with this new science. I never falter in curiosity or lust in this field of study and therefore owe so much to Mrs. Inderbitzen for opening my eyes to finding myself in that aspect.
All in all, my pre-college education consists of countless experiences starting from about six years of age until my graduation of high school. Everything from my home life, my early schooling, and my high school experiences shaped my education and put me where I am today. Looking back as a whole, I had extremely positive experiences. They had to have been because I believe I am successful in my education. There isn’t just one thing that contributes to the outcome of a person’s education. It is everything. Almost every experience effects education. I am lucky that the majority of experiences in my life were positive ones.